Keurig Descale Light Won’t Turn Off

It makes for a terrible morning where, instead of your Keurig making coffee like it usually does, the device whirs for a moment before shutting off and flashing the descaling light. 

Thankfully, your Keurig doesn’t need fixing, but you have to clean out or reset the Keurig to get this warning light to go off. Here are some solutions for when your Keurig descale light won’t turn off.

Why Won’t the Descaling Light Go Off?

The descaling light on your Keurig indicates when your Keurig needs cleaning. The sensor that checks for blockages and sediment build-up activates the light when too much gunk builds up in your Keurig’s lines. The light then stays on until the blockage goes away.

In most cases, the sediment buildup in your Keurig will be a white residue left behind from using hard water or water with minerals. These minerals stay behind after the water evaporates and can clog the lines. 

Keurig K Supreme Descale Light Won’t Turn Off

As one of the higher-end single-serve models, the Supreme has some specific steps to follow to descale the device or reset it. 

Descaling The Keurig K Supreme

To descale the Keurig K Supreme, follow these steps: 

1. Add a one-to-one mixture of water and Keurig descaling solution to the water reservoir.
2. Place a mug underneath the spout.
3. Power up the Supreme and press the eight-ounce and twelve-ounce buttons together 
4. When the descale light activates, press the brew button and empty the mug when it fills up. 
5. Repeat Step 4 until the Add Water light comes on.
6. Rinse the water reservoir and fill it with regular water.
7. Press the brew button, empty the mug, and repeat until all lights turn off on the Keurig. 

Resetting the Keurig K Supreme

Resetting the Supreme involves undergoing a factory reset of the device. To do a factory reset, follow these steps: 

1. Power up the Supreme and press both of the arrow keys at the same time
2. Click the Next option. 
3. Scroll with the arrow keys until you find the Factory Setting option
4. Press the brew button to confirm the reset
5. When the machine finishes its reset, unplug the device for 10 seconds when prompted. 
6. Plug the device back in. 

Keurig K Express Descale Light Won’t Turn Off

The Keurig K Express follows many of the same guidelines as the Supreme model when turning off the descale light, but with a few differences.

How to Descale the Keurig K Express

To descale the Keurig K Express, follow these steps: 

1. Add a one-to-one mixture of water and Keurig descaling solution to the water reservoir.
2. Place a mug underneath the spout.
3. Power up the Supreme and press the eight-ounce and twelve-ounce buttons together for three seconds
4. When the descale light activates, press the twelve-ounce button and empty the mug when it fills up. 
5. Repeat Step 4 until the Add Water light comes on.
6. Rinse the water reservoir and fill it with regular water.
7. Press the brew button, empty the mug, and repeat until all lights turn off on the Keurig. 

Keurig K-Duo Descale Light Won’t Turn Off

If the descaling light comes on for your Keurig K-Duo, you should follow the device’s instructions for descaling the K-Duo before manually resetting it. 

Descaling Your Keurig K-Duo 

To descale the K-Duo device, follow these steps: 

1. Add an equal amount of Keurig descaling solution and water to the reservoir. 
2. With no coffee or pods in the Keurig, brew a 12-ounce cup and a 12-cup carafe. 
3. Discard the water and wait for 30 minutes without turning the Keurig off. 
4. Rinse out the reservoir and fill it up once done. 
5. Place the reservoir into the Keurig and brew a 12-cup carafe with no coffee or pods. 
6. Brew a 12-ounce cup three times with no coffee or pods. 

Following these steps every three months will prevent buildups from getting too thick inside the Duo.  

Resetting Your Keurig K-Duo

To reset your Duo, turn off the machine and find the eight-ounce and ten-ounce serving buttons. Press both of these buttons together for three seconds and then release them. After a moment, you should see the descale light turn off.

Keurig Mini Descale Light Won’t Turn Off

The Keurig Mini sees its descale light come in in many of the same situations as other Keurig devices. Clearing out this light takes the same steps you’ve seen earlier but with minor differences. 

Descaling A Keurig Mini

Keurig Mini devices use the same descaling solution as other Keurigs. However, because these coffee makers are smaller, they only use one-third of the solution bottle instead of the entire thing. Otherwise, you’ll follow the same basic steps of mixing the solution into water, brewing without coffee, allowing the device to sit for 30 minutes, and then rinsing three to four times with plain water. 

Resetting A Keurig Mini

If you need to reset the Mini to turn off the descaling button, use this set of steps: 

1. Turn off the Mini with the power button and unplug it from the outlet
2. Wait about one minute before turning the device back on
3. Once back on, press and hold the Brew button for three seconds to reset the device
4. When the Add Water indicator blinks, your machine is ready to use

Keurig K Express Essentials Descale Light Won’t Turn Off

Like the standard Express model, the K Express Essentials doesn’t have a default reset option. Still, you can clear out the descale light on the Express Essentials by running through the descaling process. 

How to Descale the Keurig K Express Essentials

Here is how to descale the Express Essentials coffee maker: 

1. Add a one-to-one mixture of water and Keurig descaling solution to the water reservoir.
2. Place a mug underneath the spout.
3. Power up the Supreme and press the six-ounce and ten-ounce buttons together for three seconds
4. When the descale light activates, press the eight-ounce button and empty the mug when it fills up. 
5. Repeat Step 4 until the Add Water light comes on.
6. Rinse the water reservoir and fill it with regular water.
7. Press the brew button, empty the mug, and repeat until all lights turn off on the Keurig. 

Keurig K-Supreme Plus Descale Light Won’t Turn Off

The Keurig K-Supreme Plus has more features than the standard model but has the same guidelines for its descaling light and how to turn it off. 

Resetting Keurig K-Supreme Plus

The steps and tips provided earlier about cleaning out the Keurig K-Supreme will also work with the Supreme Plus. The same instructions for resetting the Supreme also work on the Supreme Plus. 

Keurig 2.0 Descale Light Won’t Turn Off

While the Keurig 2.0 models aren’t as popular anymore, they still follow many of the same steps to clean and clear out the descaling light. 

How to Descale the Keurig 2.0

To clean any of the Keurig 2.0 models, follow these steps: 

1. Add a one-to-one mixture of the descaling solution and water to the water reservoir.
2. Place a mug underneath the spout of the 2.0 and press the six-ounce button for K250 models and the ten-ounce button for all other Keurig 2.0 models. 
3. Empty the mug and repeat this process until the Add Water button starts to flash
4. Empty and rinse the water reservoir and mug with regular water
5. Fill the reservoir with water and return it and the mug to the Keurig. 
6. Run the fresh water through the Keurig using the six-ounce or ten-ounce button until all the fresh water passes through. 

Keurig K Duo Essentials Descale Light Won’t Turn Off

The Keurig K Duo Essentials works under the same guidelines as the regular Essentials model, much like the Supreme and Supreme Plus use the same instructions for their care and troubleshooting. 

Resetting Keurig K Duo Essentials

Following along with the steps outlined here for the standard Duo model work with the Duo Essentials model, too. 

Overall, the descaling light on your Keurig doesn’t go out unless you clean it with the descaling solution or reset the device. Most Keurigs follow the same general outline to clean out their internals but use different buttons for their inputs. 

If your Keurig descale light won’t turn off, resetting the Keurig tends to clear out the light. 

FAQ

Here are the answers to some of the common questions out there about descaling your Keurig: